Trump seems to be backing down in the trade war with China. President Donald Trump and his administration have taken a softer tone against China in recent weeks, and talks between the two sides have restarted ahead of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, scheduled for the end of November.

The IMF just became the latest to warn about the $1.3 trillion 'leveraged loan' market. "With interest rates extremely low for years and with ample money flowing though the financial system, yield-hungry investors are tolerating ever-higher levels of risk and betting on financial instruments that, in less speculative times, they might sensibly shun," the International Monetary Fund said. "It is not only the sheer volume of debt that is causing concern. Underwriting standards and credit quality have deteriorated."

Oil is gaining ground. West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 1.54% at $57.33 a barrel, on track for a third straight day of gains after closing Tuesday at its lowest level in a year.

Nvidia misses on revenue and profits. Nvidia was down 18% early Friday after reporting third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.84 a share on revenue of $3.18 billion, missing the $1.92 and $3.24 billion that analysts were expecting. The chipmaker's fourth-quarter revenue guidance also fell short of estimates.

The world has a new most expensive living artist. The sale of David Hockney's "Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)" for $90.3 million at Christie's auction house easily broke the 2013 record of $58.4 million, set by Jeff Koons when his orange balloon dog sold in 2013.

Stock markets around the world were mixed. China's Shanghai Composite (+0.41%) led the advance in Asia, and Britain's FTSE (-0.12%) clings to losses in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open down 0.46% near 2,719.